When the Moon Calls The Hellhounds Answer
by NavalCrimnalSuprnaturalService
Summary: Sam and Dean Winchester catch a case in Illinois and they soon discover that they are dealing with demon deals and hellhounds. When local librarian Amy Long witnesses a 'giant invisible dog' kill one of her patrons, Sam and Dean inform the scared woman that the supernatural is real. But they soon learn that this innocent woman may not be so innocent.


_Background: (Set any time after the end of season 9 to present) Sam and Dean Winchester catch a case in a small town in Illinois where two men had their innards ripped out by what the coroner described as a bear, despite the fact there are no known wild bears in Illinois. After finding local librarian Amy Long who witnessed what she described as an invisible dog claw one of her patrons to death, Sam and Dean realize they are dealing with demon deals and hellhounds. They tell a shaken Amy about the supernatural and head to her house._

 _Trigger warning: Vaguely implied suicide_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Sam and Dean Winchester. Amy Long is my own creation._

* * *

"Why do they do it?" The young brunette asked quietly, her voice almost a whisper as she stared out the window at the moon scared with tree branches.

"What did you say?" The taller of the two men currently in Amy Long's living room, Sam Winchester, stopped what he was doing to look at her.

Amy turned around to face Sam, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso, as if to protect herself. "I asked why do they do it?" she repeated, not looking him in the eye.

The other man, Sam's brother Dean, had also ceased his activities to study the young woman.

"Do what?" Dean asked her curiously, this being the first time she had said anything without being asked since the brothers had informed her that the supernatural was real and hellhounds were killing people in her town.

Amy leaned against the window, her body still facing the Winchester brothers, but her head turned slightly to continue watching the moon. "Why did they let themselves be torn apart?" she asked.

The brothers shared a look of incredulous confusion and Dean cleared his throat pointedly so she would look at him. Amy did so but she refused to meet his eyes. "They don't let themselves get torn apart. They fight like hell to, well stay out of Hell. Those people didn't want to die." His tone was hard, his own memories of being turned into a hellhound chewtoy still fresh and vivid even all these years later.

"That's the problem isn't it?" Amy said absently, once more gazing out at the full moon. Sam looked baffled at her words where as Dean looked affronted. Amy continued before either of them could comment.

"They sold their souls so good fortune would come their way and they in exchange got 10 years to live before their souls would be collected and taken to Hell. They knew they would die. They knew what they were signing up for. So why would they agree to die if they didn't want to? Why would they let themselves to be ripped to bloody ribbons, their last moments spent in immense agony and fear?"

The brothers stood in stun silence for a moment before Dean's face turned angry. "Because maybe they had no choice. Maybe they thought they could get out of it. Maybe they were trying to save someone or they were trying to do the right thing! You don't have any right to judge them for their decisions!" His voice had steadily increased in volume and by the last sentence he was nearly shouting. Anger and guilt was coming off of the older Winchester in waves, remembering the circumstances of the deal that sent him to Hell.

"Dean" Sam warned quietly, his voice quiet but his expression loud, warning his brother to stand down. In response, his older brother shot him a glare that said, 'It's not that easy'. 'I know.' Sam's sympathetic look replied. 'But this has nothing to do with you. She doesn't realize what she's saying. She's in shock.'

Dean looked away in frustration, trying to calm down. It often amused the older Winchester that the two of them could have entire conversations without uttering a single word. This time however, he was kinda grateful for it, not having to voice his personal frustrations in front of this woman.

"I don't judge them for selling their souls. That's their choice and they made it. Besides it would be hypocritical of me to judge them." Amy said, still never making eye contact, turning around once more to her beloved moon, completely oblivious to the silent conversation between the two Winchester brothers.

Sam froze as he processed her words, turning his attention away from his brother to focus completely on the woman before him. Sam suddenly noticing the distant way she had been acting ever since they had met her, and the comments on the brutality of the deaths of the hellhounds victims finally clicked into place.

"You made a deal didn't you." Sam's voice was quiet and solemn. He knew what her answer would be, after all it wasn't a question, but he so desperately wanted to be wrong.

Amy smiled sadly as she turned her back to the window and looked at the young Winchester. "Yes."

"What drove you to sell your soul? What did you ask for? Was it really worth it?" Sam asked knowing it was probably a bit rude, but he couldn't help himself. Dean had a nagging feeling that his brother was directing that last part more towards him than the woman.

Amy looked slightly uncomfortable at Sam's questions, but there was no regret in her voice when she answered him. "Yes, it was worth it. I had hit rock bottom and I figured 'hey why not sell my soul?' So in exchange for my life, the people I cared about would always have good fortune. Their hopes and dreams would come true on the house courtesy of me."

It was obvious that neither brother was expecting that answer. Sam was speechless and Dean was downright puzzled.

"Wait, so you didn't even directly benefit from your deal?" Dean asked, his voice an octave higher than usual and his eyebrows looking like they were trying to escape his face. Sam might have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.

At Amy's nonchalant shrug, Dean's eyebrows traveled even higher up his forehead, any higher and they would be free.

"Why would you do that?" The older Winchester asked incredulously.

"Why not? They all had something to live for, and like I said I hit rock bottom. It seemed selfish to make my miserable life worth living again when theirs were worth living but they just hit a string of bad luck. So I gave the a second chance."

Sam shook his head. "You realize when that deal is up you're going to die right?"

She nodded. "Believe me, I know. It's almost up too. I'll start to hear the hellhounds soon no doubt. I don't look forward to that. I hope it won't happen at all."

"If you let us help you it won't. We can find a way to get you out of your contract. It's possible, we got a guy out of his a while back." Sam told her with confidence he didn't feel. And by the look Dean was giving him right now, his brother was just as doubtful of getting Amy out of her deal as Sam was.

Amy gave a mirthless giggle that knocked the brothers off guard. "Yeah, I think I'll pass thanks."

"What did you say?" Sam questioned, disbelief gracing his features.

"I said I'm good. You don't have to help me. I made my choices and I'm fine with dying by them." She replied calmly. That really set Sam off.

"We can save you! We can figure this out, we will find the demon that you sold your soul to and force him to tear up your contract. You're still young, you could have a family, kids, don't you want that?" This time it was Sam whose voice was getting loud. He knew first hand the pain of losing someone to a demon deal, and he didn't want this girl's family to have to go through the same thing. He didn't want her death on his conscious either if he was being honest with himself.

Amy flinched at his words, like he had slapped her across the face. Her tone was slightly hard and cold at her next words.

"You can't help me. And what I want, I can't get. I did have a child, a daughter. She died of a heart defect when she was three months old. It nearly killed me when she died and it nearly killed me again when three weeks later I was told I would never be able to have another child. The night I made that deal, I was going to kill myself. I was going to end it all until that demon offered to make my dreams all come true. That deal saved me. It gave me ten more years than I originally planned and now I'm done." Her tone was strong and final at that last word, as if daring one of the boys to dispute it.

There was a tense, fragile silence that fell over the room that felt almost too sacred to break. Dean finally shattered it, causing them all to let out a breath they didn't realize they were holding.

"You don't have to give up. You don't have to can still save you." He told her, his voice steady and determined, but there was a hint of desperation that began to creep into his tone that Amy did not miss.

Amy shook her head with grim amusement. "You can't save everyone. Not when they don't want to be saved."

Dean shot Sam an uncomfortable look, guilt briefly flashing in his eyes.

"I've made my peace. I'm ready to go and there's nothing you can do to stop me." She stated matter of factly, her eyes determined, resolute.

Sam began to feel his anger towards Amy's determination slip away and be replaced with pity and understanding. Dean however, was not so ready to give up.

The elder Winchester shook his head at her stubbornness, his mind grasping at information to convince the young woman to reconsider. He latched onto her earlier criticism of the other victims letting themselves get torn apart.

"Why would you let yourself get torn apart painfully when you were critical of the others for doing the same? Being torn apart hurts like a bitch, trust me I know."

The woman ignored his declaration, but Dean could feel Sam looking at him with pity and regret.

Amy looked out the window for a long moment before she took a deep breath and turned back around to face Dean and his little brother. "I have no intention of letting a hellhound claw me apart. When I die it will be my way on my terms. I want to die peacefully in my sleep, painlessly and unafraid and I will. And don't try to convince me to reconsider because it's too late."

The two brothers exchanged a look of confusion before Sam's eyes widened with realization. "What did you do?" he asked Amy, his voice full of poorly disguised horror.

"I made a choice. A choice I don't regret so you can save your breath on how it's not too late." She said pointedly, mainly looking at Dean as she said it.

"Why did you make a deal for others to be happy? Why didn't you just trade your soul for your daughter instead?" Dean asked her dejectedly, finally realizing that convincing her to chose life was impossible.

The young woman shot the Winchester a pitying bitchface that rivaled Sams. "That would be a bit hard to explain wouldn't it? My dead child coming back to life? I would have been forced to leave my home, my family, my friends to keep the truth hidden. And then what? Ten years later my contract would have been up and my daughter would have been left without her mother."

Amy shook her head at the thought. She continued, looking both of them in the eye for the first time. "I couldn't do that to her. No matter how much pain I felt at her death, I couldn't do the same thing to her."

Dean shot Sam an uncomfortable look, this whole situation becoming more relatable and personal by the minute and the older Winchester didn't like it one bit.

Amy continued, either not noticing the tension in the room or not caring. "So I made sure the people I cared about would be happy. That they would never hurt the way I hurt when my daughter died in my arms." Amy's voice hitched in her throat, causing her to take a shaky breath before she finished. "My deal let my little sister to get a full ride to an Ivy league school. My parent's won the lottery and all their troubles went away. My best friend's stage four liver cancer miraculously disappeared. My ex was finally able to kick his drug habit. They are happy and alive right now because of my actions. I don't regret that."

Dean was so frustrated he wanted to scream. He wanted to knock some sense into this woman, to make her choose life. He wanted to banish the memories of being dragged to Hell, of his 40 years in the pit. He hated of how much it still affected him even after all these years.

Amy cleared her throat, bringing Dean out of his thoughts. "I think you two should leave. I would rather not have an audience for this. I would like to be alone." She announced, looking at both of them in turn.

Dean opened his mouth to argue, to insist they stay, but Sam spoke up before Dean had the chance. "If that's really what you want, of course we will give you your privacy." The younger Winchester informed her, shooting a pointed look at Dean.

"It is." she said simply, and she turned her attention away from them again to look out at the moon.

Dean scowled at his brother before he sighed in defeat and hurriedly left the house. Dean headed to the Impala, wanting to get as far away from the hellhounds and the memories as possible.

Sam began to follow his brother until he paused in the doorway and turned to look at the woman. "What was your daughter's name?" he asked.

Amy pulled her gaze away from the moon, a sad smile lighting on her lips. "Her name was Luna." She told him, her eyes meeting his for the last time.

A look of understanding washed over the tall mans features and he gave Amy a look full of sadness, pity, and regret. "I'm sorry."

Amy smiled again, this time looking almost….happy. "Thank you." she whispered as she once more watched the bright moon.

Sam hesitated for a moment more before he let out a heavy sigh and walked out of the house to meet his brother, the door closing gently behind him.

Amy waited until she could no longer hear the rumble of the engine from the Winchesters car to walk over to her fireplace mantel and retrieve a picture frame. She looked at the picture of her newborn child lovingly, gently stroking the glass.

The tired young woman walked back over to the window and pulled her favorite easy chair closer to the window then usual before sitting down. She brought the picture to her chest, her arms wrapped around it possessively, as if to protect the child in the photo. As the brunette's eyes began to droop in an sudden overwhelming need to sleep, she constantly looked at the moon, never looking away.

The last thing Amy Long saw before her eyes closed for the last time was Luna, her baby moon.


End file.
